NEWS

Photo Credit: TIMES PHOTO: JAIME VALDEZ - Communiy members gathered on Friday afternoon for the groundbreaking of MITCH Charter School's Frontier Garden. The green space will become a playing field and garden to be utilized come April.

Oregon Local NewsReported in The Tualatin Times

Students, educators, parents and community members gathered in the sun outside of MITCH Charter School in Tualatin on Friday afternoon, all to celebrate the official groundbreaking of the Frontier Garden.

Through a partnership with Frontier Communications, two-thirds of an acre of green space has been granted to the school, and it will be used both as a playing field and as a garden.

Photo Credit: TIMES PHOTO: JAIME VALDEZ - MITCH seventh graders Riley Young and Nyleen Krieske gave tours of the Frontier Garden on Friday, and pointed out what the land would become.

​“When you attend a traditional public school, in all likelihood there will be open space and play equipment and outdoor activities that refresh the soul,” said MITCH Executive Director Melissa Meyer. “For us, our students have not had that opportunity since we’ve been in this location. They go outside, but it’s asphalt. This is a huge step forward for their well-being in every way.”

The school, located at 19550 S.W. 90th Court, is in an industrial area surrounded by buildings and asphalt. A focus on agriculture is part of the school’s charter, and the teachers have integrated gardening into their lessons where they can, but it’s been difficult without having a real space to dig into the earth. Steps were taken this school year to add in more agriculture, and Agricultural Fridays were introduced along with some innovative ways to assimilate nature into lesson plans. The goal moving forward is to integrate agriculture into lesson plans even more.